Training system and device

ABSTRACT

A beauty product device is disclosed which includes a variety of sensors for sensing the way in which a user is operating the device. The sensor data can be processed and compared with pre-stored data representative of a desired style and feedback messages generated and provided back to the user to help them achieve the style they wish to achieve based on the comparison.

CLAIM FOR PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/954,039, filed Jun. 15, 2020, which is a U.S. National Stage Filingunder 35 U.S.C. 371 from International Application No.PCT/GB2018/053650, filed on Dec. 18, 2018, and published asWO2019/122838 on Jun. 27, 2019, which claims the benefit of priority toGreat Britain Application No. 1721818.1, filed on Dec. 22, 2017; thebenefit of priority of each of which is hereby claimed herein, and whichapplications and publication are hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a training system and to parts thereofthat are used to train users to use a beauty product device. Theinvention has particular although not exclusive relevance to a trainingsystem and hair styling devices that can help teach users how to achievedesired hair styles using the device.

BACKGROUND

Historically, in the high performance beauty product world, stylistshave been important in teaching their clients (users) how to useproducts, both electrical and wet line, to get the style the clientwants to achieve. However, with the growth of internet shopping anddirect retailing, this link between the client and the stylist isbecoming weaker and hence it is hard for the client to learn how to usethe product most effectively to achieve the desired styling. Many peopleare turning to online tutorials to help them achieve the style they wishto achieve. These tutorials can be in the form of videos and/or writtendescriptions on websites such as YouTube®. However, the inventors haverealised that these videos only provide a limited amount of relevantinformation to the user and what is needed, therefore, is a new systemand method that will provide improved training to the user to use thebeauty product device.

The inventors have realised that by making the beauty product devicemore intelligent, they can capture more information about the way thatthe user is using the device and using stored information can providefeedback to the user to help them achieve the style they wish toachieve.

In particular, currently available electrical styling products are“dumb” in that they do not know how they are being used—they simplyundertake the task for which they have been designed. They do not havesensors to measure how they are being used or how they are performing.Nor do they have communication circuitry to allow them to communicatewith the user to give them feedback on how they are using the device andhow they might change their use to help achieve the style they wish toachieve.

Accordingly, preferred embodiments of the present invention aim toprovide devices and methods which address or at least partially dealwith the above needs. Although for efficiency of understanding for thoseof skill in the art, the invention will be described in detail usinghair care products as an example, the principles of the invention can beapplied to a wide range of beauty product devices such as hair stylers,crimpers, curlers, UV lamp systems for curing nail varnish or gel,make-up applicators, and/or the like.

According to one aspect, the present invention provides a beauty productsystem for performing a treatment on a user, the system comprising: aninput for allowing the user to specify a desired treatment to beperformed; a beauty product device that is manipulable by the user toperform the desired treatment on the user; the beauty product devicehaving sensors for sensing and outputting sensor data indicative ofoperational parameters of the beauty product device during thetreatment; and a processor configured to process the sensor data todetermine if the user's usage of the beauty product device will achievethe user's desired treatment and to output one or more feedback messagesfor the user to help the user achieve the desired treatment.

The beauty product device may include communication circuitry so thatthe sensor data can be transmitted to an external processing device. Inthis case, the processor may be provided in the external processingdevice and the one or more feedback messages may be output on a userinterface associated with the user.

The output one or more feedback messages may be output to the user as anaudible or visual signal and may comprise instructions for the user onhow to use (e.g. how to move) the beauty product device to achieve thedesired treatment.

In some embodiments, the sensor data includes motion data that indicateshow the beauty product device is being moved by the user and wherein thepre-stored data includes information on how the device should be movedby the user to achieve the desired treatment.

Typically, the beauty product device is a hand held device that the usercan move to effect the desired treatment.

The invention also provides a beauty product device for performing atreatment on a user, the device comprising: an input for allowing theuser to specify a desired treatment to be performed; sensors for sensingand outputting sensor data indicative of operational parameters of thebeauty product device during the treatment; and a processor configuredto process the sensor data to determine if the user's usage of thebeauty product device will achieve the user's desired treatment and tooutput one or more feedback messages for the user to help the userachieve the desired treatment.

The invention also provides a beauty product device for performing atreatment on a user, the device comprising: sensors for sensing andoutputting sensor data indicative of operational parameters of thebeauty product device during the treatment; an input for allowing theuser to specify a desired treatment to be performed; and communicationcircuitry for communicating the sensor data to an external a processorfor processing the sensor data to determine if the user's usage of thebeauty product device will achieve the user's desired treatment.

The invention also provides corresponding methods and computer programproducts.

In order to provide usage feedback to the end user or client, the beautyproduct device being used is designed to include a variety of sensorsincluding one or more of and preferably several of:

-   -   Temperature sensors to measure important surface temperatures        e.g. plate temperature. These could be in the form of        thermocouples, thermistors or IR sensing devices.    -   Temperature sensors to measure the temperature of the substrate        being treated e.g. IR sensing devices.    -   MEMS gyroscopes to measure the orientation of the product.    -   MEMS accelerometer to measure the movement of the product on        three axes.    -   Humidity sensors to measure the amount of water vapour coming        off the substrate during the treatment.    -   Gas sensors to measure gases coming from the surface during the        treatment, particularly sulphur dioxide.    -   Dielectric sensors to detect variation in the relative        permittivity of the substrate being treated. Sensing this        property allows any changes in the substrate to be measured as        the treatment progresses.    -   Power used.

These sensors interface to a micro processing unit (MPU) and memory. Thedata can then be stored and processed on the beauty product device or becommunicated to another device with more processing power (for example,a smart phone) for processing with the result being fed back to theoriginating beauty product device or the user via either device toimprove the usage of the beauty product device. The data can also beused to provide diagnostic information about the substrate beingtreated—such as the level of moisture in the hair.

The device with more processing power or smart processing device couldalso have an interactive user interface, for example an LCD screen, toprovide direct visual or audio feedback to the user as well as to allowthe user to input feedback. For example, the quality of the styleachieved or whether they got the style they required. This informationcan be used to update and improve Artificial Intelligence (Al)algorithms used in the system.

The smart processing device might also be a pure audio device i.e. adevice without a visual UI to which the user speaks and receives audiofeedback. An example of this is the commercial available product, AmazonEcho.

Further, the processing of the data could also be communicated to acentral server system or cloud for processing with the result being fedback to the devices for user direction and communication.

The method of communication between the beauty product device and devicewith more processing power could be via a cable or wireless means.Examples of applicable wireless communications include: Bluetooth, WiFi,LoRa, ZigBee, 802.15 standard, NFC or optical means—both visible and IR.

An important aspect of determining how the product is being used andthen feeding back usage improvements to the user is related to theprocessing of the data and the associated algorithms.

Such algorithms could be based upon artificial intelligence techniques,such as forward and back propagation neural networks, deep learning,fuzzy logic etc. or based on pure deterministic comparison algorithmsand rule based logic or inference.

Aspects of the invention extend to corresponding systems, methods, andcomputer program products such as computer readable storage media havinginstructions stored thereon which are operable to program a programmableprocessor to carry out a method as described in the aspects andpossibilities set out above or recited in the claims and/or to program asuitably adapted computer to provide the apparatus recited in any of theclaims.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (which term includes theclaims) and/or shown in the drawings may be incorporated in theinvention independently (or in combination with) any other disclosedand/or illustrated features. In particular but without limitation thefeatures of any of the claims dependent from a particular independentclaim may be introduced into that independent claim in any combinationor individually.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates schematically a system to which embodiments of theinvention may be applied;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a styling device (e.g. haircurling device) forming part of the system shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a processing device (e.g.smartphone) forming part of the system shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 illustrates a hair styling device as an example of the beautyproduct device that can be used to curl user's hair;

FIGS. 5 to 8 illustrate schematically some of the parameters that may beused in a styling procedure in the system shown in FIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary way in which embodimentsof the invention can be implemented in the system of FIG. 1 .

OVERVIEW

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a system 1 in which the presentinvention may be implemented. As can be seen, this system 1 includes abeauty product device 2 (e.g. a hair curling/hair straightening device)and a processing device 3 (for example a smartphone, a tablet computer,a laptop, or a personal computer) which are coupled to each other viaappropriate data communication means that allows data to be transmittedwirelessly or over a wired connection between the beauty product device2 and the processing device 3.

In some embodiments, the system 1 may also use cloud based processingfunctionality (herein represented by a cloud server 4 coupled to theprocessing device 3) for additional cloud based data processing/datastorage related to the operation of the beauty product device 2. Thebeauty product device 2 and/or the processing device 3 are configured toaccess the cloud server 4 via a computer network, e.g. an InternetProtocol (IP) network such as the Internet, using an appropriate wiredand/or a wireless connection.

The beauty product device 2 includes a number of functional componentsappropriate for the regular functionality of the beauty product device2, including for example a handle, one or more heating plates, one ormore cooling zones, a cooling fan, an on/off switch, a temperaturepre-selector, a temperature regulator/control circuitry, etc. (dependingon the type of the beauty product device 2).

In accordance with the invention, the beauty product device 2 includesadditional functionality and associated (hardware and/or software)components that help to provide usage feedback to the end user and forfacilitating training/guiding of the user in achieving a desired stylingeffect.

In more detail, the beauty product device 2 is provided with one or moreof the following sensors: a temperature sensor (surface temperaturesensor, hair temperature sensor); a gyroscope; an accelerometer; ahumidity sensor; a gas sensor; a dielectric sensor; and a power sensor.

Sensor data obtained from these sensors is collected by the beautyproduct device 2 and packetized and transmitted to the processing device3 for processing to identify how the beauty product device 2 is beingused and to determine feedback to give to the user to help them achievea desired styling effect. The feedback may be output to the user as anaudible or a visual signal via a user interface of the beauty productdevice 2 or of the processing device 3 (or indeed on the user interfaceof some other associated device (such as the screen of a nearbytelevision)).

As will be appreciated, the above described system beneficially allowsusers to improve their use of their beauty product devices and allowsthem to obtain better styles without the help of a stylist.

This is achieved at least partly by measuring (using appropriatesensors) how the beauty product device 2 is being used and/or how it isperforming, and using the obtained data in real-time to generatefeedback to the user and/or for controlling the operating parameters ofthe beauty product device itself. The data that is collected on usagecan also be collected and communicated to other devices (e.g. a remoteserver) for statistical purposes, product improvement, and/or the like.Using sensor based information in combination with real-time userfeedback may also help to avoid incorrect usage of the beauty productdevice 2. Also, the sensor data obtained from a first user's device canbe used to control the feedback given to other users to allow for thoseother users to copy the style of the first user.

A more detailed description will now be given of the hardware andsoftware components forming part of the different system devicesintroduced above.

Beauty Product Device

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the main data collection andcommunication components of the beauty product device 2 shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the beauty product device 2 has a transceiver circuit 11that is operable to transmit signals to and to receive signals fromother devices (e.g. the external processing device 3) via one or moreantenna 12.

The beauty product device 2 has a controller 14 (such as amicro-processing unit) to control the operation of the beauty productdevice 2. The controller 14 is associated with a memory 15 and iscoupled to the transceiver circuit 11.

The controller 14 is configured to control overall operation of thebeauty product device 2 in accordance with user inputs received from auser interface 13 and program instructions or software instructionsstored within the memory 15. The software may be pre-installed in thememory 15 and/or may be downloaded via a telecommunications network(e.g. from the cloud server 4) or from a removable data storage device(RMD), for example. As shown in FIG. 2 , these software instructionsinclude, among other things, an operating system 16, a communicationscontrol module 17, and a styling module 18.

FIG. 2 also shows that the beauty product device 2 includes beautyproduct device functional features 19. These functional features dependon the beauty product concerned. In the case of a hair styler, these maybe the heaters on opposing arms of the device or they may be the fanmotor and heater in the case of a hair drying device.

The beauty product device 2 also has one or more sensors 20 coupled tothe controller 14 that are used to obtain (e.g. by the styling module18) various parameters/data relating to the styling process and/or theoperation of the beauty product device 2. As discussed above, sensors 20may include one or more of and preferably several of:

-   -   Temperature sensors to measure important surface temperatures        e.g. plate temperature. These could be in the form of        thermocouples, thermistors or IR sensing devices.    -   Temperature sensors to measure the temperature of the substrate        being treated e.g. IR sensing devices.    -   MEMS gyroscopes to measure the orientation of the beauty product        device 2.    -   MEMS accelerometer to measure the movement of the beauty product        device 2 on three axes.    -   Humidity sensors to measure the amount of water vapour coming        off the substrate during the treatment.    -   Gas sensors to measure gases coming from the surface during the        treatment, particularly sulphur dioxide.    -   Dielectric sensors to detect variation in the relative        permittivity of the substrate being treated. Sensing this        property allows any changes in the substrate to be measured as        the treatment progresses.    -   Power used by the beauty product device 2.

The communications control module 17 is operable to control thecommunication between the beauty product device 2 and other devices(e.g. the external processing device 3 and the cloud server 4).

The styling module 18 is responsible for controlling the functionalfeatures 19 in accordance with the user settings input by the user viathe user interface 13. In some embodiments, the styling module 18 mayalso vary the control of the functional features 19 based on feedbackreceived from the external processing device 3. For example if thesensor data reveals that the user is moving the device too slowly acrossthe user's hair then the styling module 18 may reduce the power appliedto the hair to prevent it being burnt.

External Device

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the main components of theprocessing device 3 shown in FIG. 1 . As shown, the processing device 3has a transceiver circuit 21 for transmitting signals to and forreceiving signals from the beauty product device 2 via one or moreantenna 22. The transceiver circuit 21 may also be used for transmittingsignals to and for receiving signals from remote devices, such as thecloud server 4, either wirelessly or using an appropriate wiredinterface (not shown). Although not necessarily required for itsoperation, the processing device 3 (e.g. a smartphone and/or the like)might of course have other functionality as well and this may beprovided by any one or any combination of hardware, software andfirmware, as appropriate.

The processing device 3 has a controller 24 (such as a micro-processingunit) to control the operation of the processing device 3. Thecontroller 24 is associated with a memory 25. The controller 24 isconfigured to control the overall operation of the processing device 3by program instructions or software instructions stored within thememory 25. This software may be pre-installed in the memory 25 and/ormay be downloaded via a telecommunications network (e.g. from the cloudserver 4) or from a removable data storage device (RMD). As shown, thesesoftware instructions include, among other things, an operating system26, a communications control module 27, and a styling controlapplication (App) 28.

The communications control module 27 is operable to control thecommunication between the processing device 3 and the beauty productdevice 2, and between the processing device 3 and the cloud server 4(and any other devices connected to it).

In this embodiment, the communications control module 27 is responsiblefor receiving the sensor data from the beauty product device 2 andpassing it to the styling control App 28. The styling control App 28compares the received data which indicates how the beauty product device2 is being used with pre-stored styling data 29 that represents a userselected style they wish to achieve. Based on this comparison, thestyling control App 28 generates one or more feedback messages forfeeding back to the user to help them achieve the selected style. Thestyling control App 28 either sends these feedback messages to the userinterface 23 for output to the user as an audible or visual signal; orit passes the feedback messages to the communications control module 27for transmission to another device such as the beauty product device 2.

The pre-stored data 29 may be permanently stored in the processingdevice 3 or it may be downloaded from the server cloud 4 based on adesired style selected by the user via the user interface 23. Typicallythe pre-stored data may be a set of deterministic rules or trainedinformation of an Al algorithm (such as a trained neural network) run bythe styling control App 28 that relate a sequence of sensor inputs fromthe beauty product device 3 to one or more feedback messages identifyingactions that the user should take to achieve the desired style.

Operation

A more detailed description will now be given (with reference to FIGS. 4to 9 ) of some of the exemplary ways in which the present invention maybe implemented using the above described beauty product device 2 andexternal device 3. In the following example, the beauty product device 2is a hair styling device that allows a user to create curls in theirhair. The applicant has already developed numerous such hair stylingdevices and some of these are described in WO2013/104903 andWO2015/071656, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference. In short, these documents teach that a good curl to hair canbe achieved by firstly heating the hair to above the glass transitiontemperature of hair, applying a stress to the hair to create the curland then rapidly cooling the hair to below the glass transition phasetemperature to set the curl in place.

FIG. 4 illustrates the general arrangement of one suitable hair stylingdevice that can produce a curl and which incorporates the newarrangements of the beauty product device 2 discussed above. The hairstyling device 2 comprises a pair of arms 50, 52 which are hingedtogether at one end 54. The arms are moveable between a closed positionin which the opposed ends of the arms from the joined end are adjacenteach other and an open position in which the opposed ends of the armsare spaced apart (as shown in FIG. 4 ). Variants may not comprise ahinge, but still allow for the arms to be moved between open and closedpositions. The second arm 52 is shaped so that the end of the arm whichis adjacent the end of the first arm 50 in the closed position fits intoa corresponding recess in the first arm. The recess is a generallyelongate open-ended channel which extends along the portion of the firstarm which is in contact with the second arm. The axis of the channel isaligned with the axis of the arm, i.e. the channel extendslongitudinally along the arm. The channel has a base and sides. Thesecond arm 52 has a generally elongate section 56 which fits within therecess of the first arm 50.

The second arm 52 has a pair of heating zones arranged to extend alongat least a significant part of one long side of the elongate section 56.The first arm also has a pair of heating zones arranged to extend alongat least a significant part of one long side of the recess. Thus, theheating zones extend longitudinally along the apparatus, i.e. parallelto the length or long axis of the apparatus. The heating zones on thefirst arm are adjacent and generally in contact with the heating zoneson the second arm when the arms are in the closed position. Each heatingzone is heated by a respective heater (not shown). Each heating zone hasa generally planar contacting surface and may be formed as a heatingplate, e.g. from ceramics or metal, e.g. aluminium, which may/may nothave a thermal coating. One or both arms also have one or more coolingzones which are arranged adjacent to a heating zone. The cooling zonesmay be curved to help curl hair which passes through the device. Byproviding a pair of cooling zones, hair can be curled by pulling theapparatus in either direction along the hair. Further detail of the hairstyling device 2 can be found in the above described PCT publications.

So with the beauty product device 2 of the invention, the amount of curlthat the user is imparting to their hair can be determined in real timeand advice given to the user on how to get the curl they desire. In themost basic case, the amount of curl can be determined by variousfactors, including: amount of contact of the hair with the cooling zone,speed of operation, and the angle at which the device is being held bythe user during use. Thus to determine the difference between creatingstraight hair and a curl, the processing algorithm used by the stylingcontrol App 28 in the processing device 3 can measure the cooling zonetemperature. To make a curl, the hair has to be in contact with thecooling zone and the inventors have found that the temperature of thecooling zone will rise to over 80 degrees due to heat energy beingtransferred from the hair into the cooling zone. Hence, the algorithmcan be very basic: a simple rule statement: If the maximum temperatureof the cooling zone is less than 65 degC, then straight hair will beproduced, otherwise a curl will be produced.

Curl differences can also be detected. The inventors have found that thekey to detecting the difference between the types of curl (a tight curlor a loose curl) achieved can be determined by analysing the time basedshape of the temperature profile of the cooling zone. Basically, thetemperature profile for a loose curl is much smoother than for tightcurls. This is illustrated in the plots shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 . Inparticular FIG. 5 is a plot showing how the sensed temperature of thecooling zone varies over time when a tight curl is being produced andFIG. 6 is a plot showing how the sensed temperature of the cooling zonevaries over time when a loose curl is being produced. The stars andtriangles show points of local maxima and minima respectively.

As the start time of the styling is not known, the styling control App28 first looks for the time when the temperature exceeds 55 DegC andignores everything before it. The styling control App 28 then calculatesthe percentage CV (coefficient of variation) between the first and lastmaxima and uses this to determine if a loose or tight curl was achieved.If the percentage CV is about 3.5 then a tight curl has been achieved,else a loose curl has been achieved. The inventors have found that thisapproach provides a highly reliable way to differentiate between thetypes of curl produced (shows a significant statistical difference atthe 95% confidence interval).

Another factor that the inventors have found to affect the usage of thedevice is the amount of hair that is loaded into the device—which alsoaffects the ability of the device 2 to make a curl. This can be detectedby monitoring the power supplied to the heaters of the hair stylingdevice 2. In particular, when room temperature hair touches the heatersthe hair will cool the heaters down. The hair styling device 2 willrespond to this by applying more power to the heaters to try to keep theheaters at a constant temperature. The more hair that is in contact withthe heaters, the more power is required to keep the temperature of theheaters constant. For a medium sized hair tress, the inventors havefound that the power required is about 30 W whereas for a large sizedhair tress, the power required increases to over 50 W. This isillustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 — FIG. 7 showing the power usage vs timewhen a medium sized hair tress is pulled through the hair styler 2 andFIG. 8 showing the power usage vs time when a large sized hair tress ispulled through the hair styler 2. Accordingly, the styling control App28 can use a simple rule based inference: if the heater power is above40 W, too much hair has been loaded in the hair styling device 2, elsethe right amount is used.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example process performed by thestyling control App 28 to deal with the above two factors. Initially, asgenerally shown in step S1, the user selects a desired style/stylinggroup via the user interface 13 of the hair styling device 2 or via theuser interface of the processing device 3. If entered into the hairstyling device 2, then the styling module 18 generates and sends (viathe communications control module 17) a message to the styling controlApp 28 in the processing device 3 to identify the style to be achieved.The styling control App 28 uses this information to download from thecloud server 4 appropriate pre-stored data 29 for that style. Variousother initialisation steps may also take place, such as downloading anupdate for the styling device 2 and the processing device 3; interactionwith the user such as, for example, loading a user profile; identifyingthe user; prompting the user for menu selections (such as how they wishthe feedback messages to be presented to the user), receiving user input(e.g. voice input, keypress (physical/software key), obtainingconfirmation and/or authorisation to start the styling process), and/orthe like. In step S2 the user selects the expected result from a menu,using the user interface 23 of the processing device 3 coupled to thestyling device 2 (or the user interface 13 of the styling device 2). Inthis example, the user can select between performing hair straighteningand hair curling using the styling device 2. It will be appreciated thatfurther sub-options could of course be selected such as a tight or loosecurl styling option.

In step S3 the styling control App 28 checks the sensor data receivedfrom the hair styling device 2 relating to the power applied to theheaters to determine the amount of hair that has been loaded into thehair styling device 2. In step S4, the styling control App determines iftoo much hair has been loaded into the hair styling device 2—bycomparing the power data with the appropriate threshold power level (inthis example 40W). If the power data is higher than 40 W then theprocessing proceeds to step S5 where the styling control App 28 outputsa feedback message to the user (for example via the user interface 23)to warn them that they have placed too much hair into the hair stylingdevice 2.

If the power is not above 40 W, then the styling control App 28determines that the right amount of hair has been loaded into the hairstyling device 2 and, in step S6, reads the cool zone temperature datato allow the App 28 to check, in step S7, whether or not a curl has beenachieved. If a curl has been achieved (because the temperature of thecooling zone has reached higher than 65 degC), then in step S8, thestyling control App 28 considers the temperature profile to determinethe type of curl that has been achieved and outputs an appropriatefeedback message to the user. If a curl has not been achieved then instep S9, the styling control App 28 outputs a feedback message to theuser saying that straight hair has been achieved. If the user's originaldesire was to achieve a curl, then the styling control App 28 alsooutputs a feedback message with suggested ways to achieve the desiredcurl. For example by informing the user to change the angle at whichthey are holding the device or by moving the device more slowly overtheir hair.

As those skilled in the art will appreciate, many other factors can bemonitored. For example, another factor that affects the style that isachieved is the speed with which the user pulls the device along theirhair. Often the desired style is not achieved because the user haspulled the device through their hair too quickly. The styling controlApp 28 can use sensor data from an accelerometer to detect the speedwith which the user is moving the device along their hair. In this case,the feedback message given to the user may therefore be to tell the userto slow down or speed up their motion.

As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the above system offers anumber of greatly improved practical benefits for the ordinary user. Thesystem is able to give real time feedback on what they are doing wrongand why they are not achieving the styling they want to achieve.Additionally, the sensor data produced by one user when styling orapplying a beauty treatment can be saved and provided to other users whowish to copy that user's style or treatment (for example to allow a userto copy the styling of a particular celebrity). In particular, thestyling data obtained from the original user can be processed to createa styling profile—that effectively defines the pre-stored data 29required by the styling control App 28 of the other user's device.

Modifications and Alternatives

Detailed embodiments have been described above. As those skilled in theart will appreciate, a number of modifications and alternatives can bemade to the above embodiments whilst still benefiting from theinventions embodied therein. By way of illustration only a number ofthese alternatives and modifications will now be described.

For the purposes of simplicity, the above description focuses on haircare products and particularly a hair curling device. However, it willbe appreciated that the above described concepts may be applied widelyto any hair styling product and/or other beauty product/devices in thebeauty industry, including, for example: hair dryers, curlingtongs/wands, hair straighteners, nail gel/varnish curers (such as UVlamp systems for the curing of nail varnish), skin epilators, haircolouring devices, crimpers, etc.

In the above embodiments, the beauty product device communicated with asmart processing device. This is not essential—the beauty product devicemay be provided with all the processing functionality of the processingdevice 3. Further, the processing of the sensor data could also becommunicated to a central server system or cloud for processing with theresult being fed back to the devices for user direction andcommunication.

In the above examples, the feedback messages were transmitted providedto the user by way of the user interface on the beauty product device oron the processing device. This is not essential. The feedback messagesmay be provided by any suitable user interface of any nearby device. Forexample, they may be sent to an Amazon Echo speaker device for playoutto the user as voice messages or displayed to the user on a televisionscreen or the like.

The method of communication between the beauty product device and theprocessing device could be via a cable or wireless means. Examples ofapplicable wireless communications include: Bluetooth, WiFi, LoRa,ZigBee, 802.15 standard, NFC or optical means—both visible and IR.

In the examples given above, various specific temperatures and powerlevels were discussed. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, allthese specific values are clearly not essential to the invention and theparticular values used in a given product will depend on the treatmentto be given, the voltage sources used etc.

An important aspect of determining how the product is being used andthen feeding back usage improvements to the user is the processing ofthe sensor data by the styling control App 28. In the above examples,this processing was based on pure deterministic comparison algorithmsand rule based logic or inference. Instead, such algorithms could bebased upon artificial intelligence techniques, such as forward and backpropagation neural networks, deep learning, fuzzy logic etc. In thiscase feedback from the user as to whether the feedback messages helpedto create the style the user wanted to achieve can be used to train theartificial intelligence model.

In the above embodiments, a number of software modules were described.As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the software modules may beprovided in compiled or un-compiled form and may be supplied to thebeauty product device or the corresponding processing device (mobiletelephone and/or the like) as a signal over a computer network, or on arecording medium. Further, the functionality performed by part or all ofthis software may be performed using one or more dedicated hardwarecircuits. However, the use of software is preferred as it facilitatesthe updating of the beauty product device (and the processing device).

Various other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the artand will not be described in further detail here.

1. A hair styling system for styling hair, the system comprising: a userinterface for allowing a user to provide user input to control the hairstyling system and for outputting information to the user; a hairstyling device that is manipulable by the user to perform a desired hairstyling on the hair; the hair styling device having one or more heatersfor heating the hair and a power sensor for sensing and outputtingsensor data indicating the power supplied to the one or more heaters;and a processor configured to process the sensor data from the powersensor to determine if the power supplied to the one or more heaters isgreater than a threshold value and, if it is, to cause the userinterface to output a feedback message indicating that too much hair hasbeen loaded into the hair styling device.
 2. The hair styling system ofclaim 1, wherein the hair styling device comprises communicationcircuitry and is configured to transmit the sensor data to an externalprocessing device.
 3. The hair styling system of claim 2, wherein theprocessor is provided in the external processing device and wherein theoutput feedback message is output on a user interface associated withthe user.
 4. The hair styling system of claim 1, wherein the outputfeedback message is output to the user as an audible or visual signal.5. The hair styling system of claim 1, wherein the sensor data includesmotion data that indicates how the hair styling device is being moved bythe user, wherein the processor is configured to compare the motion datawith pre-stored data that includes information on how the device shouldbe moved by the user to achieve a desired hair style and wherein theprocessor is configured to cause one or more feedback messages to beoutput to the user to help the user achieve the desired hair style. 6.The hair styling system of claim 1, wherein the hair styling devicefurther comprises an accelerometer that provides sensor data indicatingmovement of the hair styling device and wherein the processor isconfigured to process the sensor data from the accelerometer todetermine a speed at which the user is moving the hair styling deviceacross the hair and wherein the processor is configured to reduce thepower applied to the hair to prevent the hair being burnt or to output afeedback message to the user to slow down or to speed up.
 7. The hairstyling system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured toprocess the sensor data to determine if usage by the user of the hairstyling device will achieve the user's desired hair styling and isconfigured to provide feedback to achieve the desired hair styling andwherein the hair styling device is configured to vary the control offunctional features of the hair styling device based on the feedbackfrom the processor.
 8. The hair styling system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to process sensor data to determine diagnosticinformation about the hair being treated.
 9. The hair styling system ofclaim 8, wherein the diagnostic information comprises a level ofmoisture in the hair.
 10. The hair styling system of claim 1, whereinthe hair styling device further comprises at least one cooling zone forcooling the hair and a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature ofthe at least one cooling zone and wherein the processor is configured todetermine if the temperature of the at least one cooling zone is above athreshold temperature to determine if a curl has been achieved.
 11. Thehair styling system of claim 1, wherein the processor is provided in thehair styling device.
 12. A hair styling method using a hair stylingsystem, the method comprising: providing a user interface for allowingthe user to provide user input to control the hair styling system andfor outputting information to the user; providing a hair styling devicethat is manipulable by the user to perform a desired hair style on theuser's hair, wherein the hair styling device comprises one or moreheaters for heating the hair, and a power sensor for sensing andoutputting sensor data indicating the power supplied to the one or moreheaters; processing the sensor data from the power sensor to determineif the power supplied to the one or more heaters is greater than athreshold value and, if it is, to cause the user interface to output afeedback message indicating that too much hair has been loaded into thehair styling device.
 13. The hair styling method of claim 12, comprisingtransmitting the sensor data to an external processing device.
 14. Thehair styling method of claim 13, wherein the processing is performed inthe external processing device and wherein the output feedback messageis output on a user interface associated with the user.
 15. The hairstyling method of claim 12, wherein the output feedback message isoutput to the user as an audible or visual signal.
 16. The hair stylingmethod of claim 12, wherein the sensor data includes motion data thatindicates how the hair styling device is being moved by the user,wherein the processing compares the motion data with pre-stored datathat includes information on how the device should be moved by the userto achieve a desired hair style and wherein the method further includesoutputting one or more feedback messages to the user to help the userachieve the desired hair style.
 17. The hair styling method of claim 12,wherein the hair styling device further comprises an accelerometer thatprovides sensor data indicating movement of the hair styling device,wherein the processing processes the sensor data from the accelerometerto determine a speed at which the user is moving the hair styling deviceacross the hair and reducing the power applied to the hair to preventthe hair being burnt or outputting a feedback message to the user toslow down or to speed up.
 18. The hair styling method of claim 12,wherein the processing includes processing the sensor data to determineif usage by the user of the hair styling device will achieve the desiredhair style and providing feedback to achieve the desired hair stylingand wherein the hair styling device varies the control of functionalfeatures of the hair styling device based on the feedback from theprocessing.
 19. The hair styling method of claim 12, further comprisingprocessing sensor data to determine diagnostic information about thehair being treated.
 20. The hair styling method of claim 19, wherein thediagnostic information comprises a level of moisture in the hair. 21.The hair styling method of claim 12, wherein the hair styling devicefurther comprises at least one cooling zone for cooling the hair and atemperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the at least onecooling zone and wherein the processing determines if the temperature ofthe at least one cooling zone is above a threshold temperature todetermine if a curl has been achieved.
 22. The hair styling method ofclaim 12, wherein the processing is performed on the hair stylingdevice.
 23. A tangible computer readable medium comprising computerexecutable instructions for causing a programmable device to carry outthe method of claim 12.